TREMBLING CROWN (LTD. GOLD VINYL)

Knowing their debut single "Silver Cloak", you don't expect Chalice to join
mass of mostly faceless classic metal parvenus that keep popping up
throughout Scandinavia with their first full-length. If anything, "Trembling
Crown" thickly underlines the fact that the Finns have been a tad more
playful and inventive than their contemporaries ever since they started out
in 2016. With songs composed during the last five years, the album is both
a condensation of how the group has developed and a harbinger of exciting
things to come, wrapped up in an aptly mysterious narrative by guitarist and
storyteller Verneri, whose voice reminds of late icons such as Pagan Altar's
Terry Jones or Mark Shelton from Manilla Road. In the same way, the
quartet seems to be comfortable amid these two legends also from a
stylistic point of view. The record as such showcases what's possible in
terms of variety within this genre. For example, the epic 'Stars' filters
Wishbone Ash's "Argus" through proverbial cracks of doom, complete with
vintage synthesizer sounds, tempo changes and lead breaks galore, while
the title song sports a Flamenco interlude, all confirming the exceptional
status of these youngsters.